Pattern Tour

These are the main features of a Classic Cross Stitch pattern please take a tour starting with

Cover

The cover has a full colour picture of the finished cross stitch, the size of your finished picture in 14, 16, 18, 22, 25 and 30 count fabric. There is also a full page colour picture on a seperate glossy paper page of the finished cross stitch so it can’t get lost and you can see how the finished pattern will look before you start. These images are produced from the patternso what you see is what you get.

All our charts are printed on brilliant white 8.5" x 11" 20 or 24 lb. bond paper so they are easy to handle and use,

When we make a pattern in a different thread we start from the beginning. We never just convert a pattern from one type of thread to another. Below, On top is a copy of the original art work. Underneath is the picture done in DMC on the left and Anchor thread on the right. The details in the patterns are the same but the colours vary slightly.

The pages below are the copies of the symbol key page for the same pattern done in DMC and Anchor cotton. Each pattern comes with both numbers and names but the names are just an added convenience and will change. US names are not the same as European names. The NUMBERS never change.

Example chart key using Anchor (left) and DMC thread (right)

Charts

Most people take the download option for their charts and get the black and white, the full colour block with symbols and the colour symbol chart.

The charts are large and easy to follow for anyone here are examples in both DMC and Anchor floss

A standard pattern is made using DMC thread, but we make patterns in DMC, Anchor, cotton Eterna silk Appleton, Bramwell,DMC tapestry wool and other threads in both solid colors and blends (one strand each of two different colors). Blends are usually done on people's faces and hands to give a more natural look and avoid sudden changes of colours. On some patterns the face hands etc will be converted to petit point stitching instead of blended thread, these patterns are not suited to Aida cloth but a non petit point version will also be available. All patterns are also available with no blending and all downloaded patterns come with both the blended and petit point versions as well as an unenhanced version. Some charts will have backstitching on them but a chart without backstitching is always available All mailed patterns will come with just the enhanced blended version unless you ask for the unenhanced version when you order the pattern.

If we print the chart here you get just one chart, the black and white chart using blended thread and backstitching. We can print the unblended non backstitch chart or send you a URL where you can dowload the other charts and print them yourself. We do not normally print coloured patterns and the cost is to high and will only do it on special request. We use a bright-white, acid-free paper and a glossy paper for the full colour picture.

All our patterns are made using the thread that you ask for so if you want Anchor floss you get a pattern made using Anchor floss. The pattern will be made using Anchor floss not converted from DMC to Anchor

Since many of our patterns use a great many colours, the color key is organized by thread number a key organized by colour shades or from darkest to lightest or by symbols(as they are arranged in the font) can be requested at no extra charge.

There is also a list of the colours with the number of skeins of floss you will need to finish the pattern the skein number is generous so you should never run out. This is based on using a 14 count fabric and 2 strands of floss with a 20% thread loss to wastage. All skeins are rounded up to the nearest whole skein so in some colours you should have a lot of thread left over for the next pattern.

The quantities take into account the use of each color alone as well as all the blends used, so you don’t have to add up a lot of separate numbers to get the amount of thread to buy we do that for you.

Most people take the download option for their charts and get the black and white, the full colour block with symbols and the colour symbol chart.

The charts are in a pdf format. Our standard chart has a print scale of seven squares per inch. They are large and easy for anyone to follow here are examples in both DMC and Anchor floss

these are the DMC charts in black and white and colour blocks.

these are the the Anchor charts

This is a pattern layout page showing the place of each page in the charts overall design. The pages always go accross from left to right starting at the top and then down. Each page now also comes with its paces in the design shown in the bottom left corner. ome of the older charts do not have this feature yet but we are redoing all the patterns to include it

This is an example of the floss requirement sheet

Pattern Layout

This is a pattern layout page showing the place of each page in the charts overall design. The pages always go accross from left to right starting at the top and then down. Each page now also comes with its paces in the design shown in the bottom left corner. ome of the older charts do not have this feature yet but we are redoing all the patterns to include it

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Example pattern page layout

Centre Marks

In case you like to stitch from the center out, centering arrows are printed on each page that includes a center row or column.

Only the page that contains the very center of the chart has both lots of marks. This can also be determined by taking the number of stitches in the pattern dividig in 2 and finding the pattern page with that stitch number on it. All patterns have the numbers printed every tenth stitch to make them easier to follow.

Numbering starts in the top left hand corner but it can start from the centre out by special request.